Side bearing for railway-cars.



E. A. LE BEAU 6: E. G. BUSSE.

SIDE BEARING FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I5, I9I2.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

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A? yr zm E. A. LE BEAU & E. G. BUSSE. SIDE BEARING FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, I9I2.

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Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

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' ERNEST A. LE BEAU AND EDWIN G. BUSSE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORST0 TION.

SIDE BEARING FOE RAILWAY-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 11.915.

Application filed April 1-5, 1912. Serial No. 690,979.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ERNEST A. Ln BEAU and EDWIN G. Bnssn, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSide Bearings for Railway-Cars, of which the following is a. full,clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to anti-friction side bearings for railway cars ofthe type having a lower base plate and an upper, movable cover orbearing plate with interposed rollers or the like in contact with saidplates, the upper cover or bearing plate being arranged to be engaged bythe ends of the body bolster of the car.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved construction whichcan be readily assembled and in which improved means are provided formaintaining the parts in proper relation and for centering the hearingor cover plate and the interposed anti.- friction rollers when the loadis removed. 7 The invention consists in the features of improvementhereinafter set forth, illustrated in the preferred form in theaccompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end view of the improved side bearing.Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan view with the cover plateand parts shown in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l. Fig. a is alongitudinal section on the line as of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross sectionon the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. v

The improved side bearing comprises a base plate 1 a movable, upperhearing or cover plate 2 and an interposed antifriction devicecomprising a set of rollers 3 arranged within a movable spacing frame 4.The base member or plate 1 is carried by the bolster or bolsters of thecar truck. The preferred form illustrated is designed to be applieddirectly to the bearing yoke which is fixed to the ends of the bolstersof a six wheel truck. As shown, the lower side of the base plate isprovided with depending transverse flanges 5 and a central longitudinalflange 6 which are adapted to rest upon the upper face of the centralportion of the yoke 7. The base plate is also provided with dependingside flanges 8 which overlap and snugly engage the sides of the yoke.The

transverse flanges 5 extend between the side flanges 8 so that a strongconstruction is provided. The side flanges 8 are also preferablyprovided with triangular bracing flanges 9 extending between the outerfaces of the side flanges and the outer side portions of the base plate.The end transverse flanges 5 are provided with horizontal portions 10extending inwardly from their lower edges. These horizontal portions areprovided with notches 11 to receive the headed ends of fastening bolts12 by which the side bearing is secured to the yoke. Lips 13 extendingaround the edges of the notches 11 engage the heads of the bolts 12 andeffectively prevent the displacement of the bearing. This arrangementobviates the necessity of employing a separate attaching plate which isusually secured to the yoke 7 and to which the side bearing is fastened.

The cover or bearing plate 2 is provided at its edges with dependingside and end walls 14 and 15. The side walls 14. have an interlockingand guiding engagement with the side edges of the base plate 1 and theseparts are properly curved so that the cover plate and anti-frictiondevice will properly oscillate upon an arc struck from the king pin orcenter of oscillation. of the truck. Preferably, as shown, each of theside walls 14 of the cover plate is provided with a series of three lugs16 which depend from the lower edges thereof and which are provided withinturned lips 17 extending beneath the edge portions 18 of the baseplate. Each of the center lugs 16 of the hearing or cover plate isprovided with a depending stop lug 19 which, at one end of the movementof the cover plate, is arranged to engage a pair of cooperating lugs 20on one end of the base plate. The stop lugs 20 are preferably castintegral with the base plate and extend downwardly and outwardly fromthe lower side portions thereof and these lugs, as most clearly shownin, Figs. 2 and 5, are arranged below the edge portions 18 of the baseplate and below the path of movement of the lips 16 on the cover platebut in position to engage the stop lugs 19 and arrest the travel of thecover plate at one end of its movement. At the opposite end of itsmovement, the stop lugs 19 are arranged to be engaged by the headed endsof two keys 21 which are inserted through a pair of key lugs 22 on thelower side of the base plate,

the inner ends of the keys being bent over to hold them in position. Theparts are assembled by sliding one of the plates longi: tudinally overthe other with the lips 17 of the cover plate overlapping the edgeportions 18 of the base plate. The keys 21 are not inserted until afterthe parts are assembled and the keys cooperate with the center lugs 19of the cover plate to limit its movement in one direction and preventits disengagement from the base plate.

In the particular form of side bearing shown, there are nineanti-friction rollers, and these rollers are preferably loosely mountedupon pintles or shafts 23. In the form shown, there are three of theseshafts with three rollers on each shaft. The roller spacing frame Q issupported upon the pin tle shafts and comprises a series of longitudinaland transverse ribs forming pockets 24: within which the rollers 3 arearranged. The longitudinal ribs of the spacing frame are provided withnotches 25 which are open at their lower ends and are arranged toreceive the pintle shafts 23. The center pintle shaft is longer than theend shaft and extends through two pockets or sapces 26, arranged at thecentral side portions of the frame. The longitudinally extending portionof the roller frame is provided with parts 27 which extend over the endsof the pintle shafts and prevent the endwise displacement thereof. Theouter wall of the side. central pockets 26 are provided with similarportions 27 which overlap the ends of the long central shaft to hold itagainst endwise movement.

The base plate, the upper bearing plate and the anti-friction devicecomprising the set of rollers and the roller frame, are held inproperrelation by a centering device or member connected to the rollerframe and engaging the base plate and the cover plate. This centeringmeans preferably comprises a gear carried by the roller frame andengaging rack teeth formed upon the upper and lower plates. Preferably,two gears or pinions 28 are arranged within the central side pockets 26of the roller frame and are loosely mounted upon the ends of the longcenter shaft 23. These gears mesh with two sets of. rack teeth 29 and 30formed upon the base and cover plates adjacent their side edges. Toinsure the proper movement of the roller frame in an are about thecenter of oscillation of the truck, the rack teeth 29 and 80 and thepintle shafts 23 are arranged radially with respect to such center.

The rack teeth 29 and 30 preferably extend above and below the adjacentsurfaces of the top and bottom plates and are arranged, as shown,outside of the bearing surfaces of these plates with which the rollers 3are in rolling contact and preferably the bearing surfaces of the topand bottom plates are substantially in the same plane as the pitch lineof the rack teeth.

The parts are restored to central position by opposed centering springs.Preferably, two pairs or sets of coiled sorings 31 are employed, onepair being arranged at each side of the bearing between the side endportions of the roller spacing frame and the end walls 15 of the coverplate. The springs 31 are arranged within and closely adjacent thedepending side walls l l of the cover plate and the outer ends of thesprings are arranged in outwardly projecting seating portions 32 formedupon the depending end walls 15 of the cover plate. These seatingportions are preferably provided with centering studs 33 whichprojectinwardly through the springs and which are cored out to lighten thestructure.

The roller frame is substantially rectangular and is provided at eachcorner with a seat for the inner end of one of the springs. These seatson the roller frame are preferably in the form of cylindrical pockets3+1 formed at the corners of the roller frame and open along their outersides. The inner ends of the springs extend within the pockets and abutagainst the walls of the bottom or inner ends of the pockets.Preferably, the wall of each pocket is provided with a lug 35 whichengages the coils at the inner end of the spring and locks it inposition in the pocket.

lVhen the bearing is in use upon a railway car, the engagement of thebody bolster of the car with the bearing or cover plate will move thehearing or cover plate and the rollers and roller frame toward oneen'dof the base plate as the car rounds a curve. Inasmuch as the coverplate travels twice as fast as the anti-friction device, the springs 31at one end of the bearing will be' compressed and, when the pressure isrelieved, these springs will return the roller frame and rollers tocentral position with respect to the cover plate. At the same time, thegears 28 will cooperate with the rack teeth 29 and 30 to restore theanti-friction device and the cover plate to central position relativelyto the base plate. It should be noted that the springs at one end of thebearing are idle when the springs at the opposite end are acting torestore the parts to central position. That is to say, the springs atone side of the bearing act to restore the parts when the bearing andanti-friction device are shifted in one direction, and the other set ofsprings act when the bearing has been shifted in the opposite direction.

It should be noted that the open sides of the cylindrical pocket 34; ofthe springs are flattened and are arranged adjacent the inner faces ofthe depending side flanges 14 of the cover plate, so that the rollerframe and roll ers cannot be improperly displaced in lateral direction.Normally, however, the roller frame is held out of engagement with theside walls 1% by the four springs 31 which are arranged between thecorners of the cover plate and the corners of the roller frame. Thisarrangement of the springs holds the roller frame against twisting andthus reduces the friction and wear upon the parts. Furthermore, thegears 28 and the rack teeth with which they cooperate arranged atopposite sides of the roller frame aid in guiding the roller frameandcover plate and prevent these parts from twisting and grinding uponthe base plate. It should also be noted that the bearing is notdependent upon the springs alone for positioning the parts, since thegears and rack teeth serve to positively regulate the relative positionof the parts and the travel of the cover plate and of the roller frame.It is impossible for the anti-friction device to return to centralposition independently of the cover plate.

Preferably, the rollers 3 and gears 28 are loosely mounted upon thepintle shafts 23 and the pintle shafts are loosely arranged in theroller frame. Hence, when the load is applied to the bearing the solidrollers 3 be tween the base plate and cover plate take all the strainand there is no strain upon the gears or rack teeth which wouldotherwise tend to wear or break these parts, since, as stated, the gearsare loosely mounted on the center pintle shaft 23 and are free torevolve independently of the rollers. The gears are in operation tocenter the parts only when the bearing is relieved from its load.

The bearing surfaces of the base and cover plates are preferably formedof hardened steel and for this purpose thin plates 36 are set withinrecesses formed in the inner faces of the base and cover plates betweenthe rows of rack teeth 29 and 30. In the form shown, the lower wearplate 36 is secured to the base plate by rivets 37. The upper wear plateis held in place in the cover plate by lugs 38 and 39 which overlap theends of the wear plate. One of the latter sets of lugs are bent toposition after the wear plate has been inserted.

The entire upper surface of the base plate, with the exception of therack teeth 29, lies in the plane of'the upper face of the wear plate 36.The side flanges lt of the cover plate are cut away between the lugs 16(see Fig. 2) so that openings are formed through which air can circulateover the bearing face of the base plate to keep such surface free fromcinders, dirt and the like. For the same purpose, the end walls 15 ofthe cover plate terminate slightly above the bearing surface of the baseplate, as most clearly shown in Fig. 1. These end walls of the coverplate are, however, arranged closely adjacent the wearing surface andalso assist in preventing the accumulation of cinders, dirt and the likeupon the wear surface of the base plate. Any such material which wouldinterfere with the proper operation of the bearing would be scraped 01?the wearing surface of the base plate by the lower edges of the endwalls 15.

As a further aid in clearing the wearing surface of the base plate fromdirt, openings 4-0 extend from the spaces between the rack teeth 29through the base plate.

In order that the parts may be readily assembled, the base plate isprovided at one end with grooves 41 in line with the rack teeth 29. Therollers and gears are placed in their proper position in the rollerframe and the latter, together with the rollers and gears is then placedin the cover plate, all of these parts being inverted. The roller frameis held in its extreme forward position (or at the right hand end, asshown in the drawings) and the base plate is moved longitudinally toposition with its edge portions 18 engaging the flanged lugs 16 of thecover, plate. As the base is moved to position, the gears 28 on theroller frame pass through the slots 41 until they engage the rack teeth29. The cover plate is then shifted to one extreme position and thesprings 31 at one end inserted. The cover is then moved to its otherextreme position and the springs at the opposite end inserted. Finallythe keys 21 are inserted in the key lugs 22 and the ends of the keysbent, as shown in Fig. 1, to hold the parts in assembled condition.

The parts of the bearing can be readily disassembled by removing thekeys for the purpose of making repairs.

The upper face of the hearing or cover plate 2 is preferably arched inlateral direction in order that the load may be carried at the centralportion of the bearing directly above the supporting yoke 7.

It is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the details set forthwithout departure from the essentials of the invention as defined in theclaims.

We claim as our invention 1. A side bearing for railwaycars comprising abase plate, a movable cover or bearing plate having depending side andend walls, said side walls being interlocked with said base plate, amovable anti-friction device interposed between said plates, springshoused within said cover plate and interposed directly between the endwalls of said cover plate and said anti-friction device for centeringsaid anti-friction device relatively to said cover plate, and a memberconnected to said anti-friction de vice and engaging said plates forcentering said cover plate and antifriction device relatively to saidbase plate, substantially as described.

2. A side bearing for railway cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or bearing plate, anti-friction rollers interposed between saidplates, a spacing frame for said rollers, springs interposed directlybetween said frame and the ends of said cover plate for centering saidrollers relatively to said cover plate, and a member connected to saidframe and engaging said plates for centering said cover plate,substantially as described.

3. A side bearing for railway cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or bearing plate, anti-friction rollers interposed between saidplates, a spacing frame for said rollers, centering springs for saidrollers interposed directly between said frame and one of said plates,and a member, separate from said rollers mounted on said frame andengaging said plates for centering said cover plate, substantially asdescribed.

4. A side bearing for railway cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or bearing plate, anti-friction rollers interposed between saidplates, a spacing frame for said rollers, centering springs interposeddirectly between said frame and one of said plates, and a gear separatefrom said rollers mounted on said frame, said plate having rack teethengaged by said gear, substantially as described.

5. A side bearing for railway-cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or bearing plate having depending side and end walls, said sidewalls being interlocked with said base plate, a movable anti-frictiondevice interposed between said plates, springs housed within said coverplate and interposed directly between the end walls ofsaid cover plateand said anti-friction device for centering said anti-friction devicerelatively to said cover-plate, and a gear journaled on saidanti-friction device, said base and cover plates having rack teethengaged by said gear, substantially as described.

6. A. side bearing for railway cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or hearing plate provided with depending side walls in guiding andinterlocking engagement with said base plate, a set of antifrictionrollers interposed between said plates, a spacing frame for saidrollers, and gears mounted at opposite sides of said frame, said plateshaving rack teeth engaged by said gears and bearing surfaces betweensaid rack teeth and substantially in the plane of the pitch linethereof, and one of said plates having longitudinal grooves in line withsaid rack teeth through which said gears pass in assembling the parts,substantially as described.

7. A side bearing for railway-cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or bearing plate provided with depending side and end walls, saidside walls having an interlocking and guiding engagement with saidbearing plate, a set of anti-friction rollers interposed between saidplates, a spacing frame for said rollers, centering springs interposedbetween the ends of said frame and of said cover plate, said plateshaving rack teeth at opposite sides extending above and below theadjacent surfaces of the plates, and gears on the opposite sides ofsaidframe meshing with said rack teeth, substantially as described.

8. A side bearing for railway-cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover orv bearing plate provided with depending side and end walls, saidside walls having an interlocking and guiding engagement with saidbearing plate, a set of anti-friction rollers interposed between saidplates, a spacing frame for said rollers, centering springs interposedbetween the ends of said frame and of said cover plate, said plateshaving rack teeth at opposite sides extending above and below theadjacent surfaces of the plates, and gears on the opposite sides of saidframe meshing with said rack teeth, said base plate having grooves atone end in line with said rack teeth through which said gears pass inassembling the parts, substantially as described.

9. A side bearing for railway-cars comprising a base plate, a movablecover or bearing plate having depending side andend walls, said sidewalls having aninterlocking and guiding engagement with said base plate,a set of anti-friction rollers interposed between said plates, a spacingframe for said rollers, two sets of opposed coiled springs, one ateachside of theb-earing within said cover plate, said frame and saidcover plate having seats for .the ends of said springs, and gearsloosely mounted at opposite sides of said frame, said plates having rackteeth engaged by said gears and bearing surfaces between andsubstantially in the plane of the pitch line of said rack teeth,substantially as described.

10. A side bearing for railway-cars comprising a base plate,'a movablecover or hearing plate provided with depending side and end walls, saidside walls having a guiding and interlocking engagement with said baseplate, a set of anti-friction rollers interposed between said plates, aspacing frame engaging the pintles of said rollers, centering springsinterposed between said frame and the end walls of said cover plate,said plates having bearing surfaces for said rollers and rack teeth atthe sides of said surfaces, and gears mounted in said frameindependentlyof said rollers and engaging said rack teeth, said springs and gearsbeing housed within said cover plate, substantially as described.

11. A side bearing for railway-cars comprising a base plate, a movablebearing frame and one of said plates, substantially plate, anti-frictionrollers interposed beas described. tween said plates, a spacing framefor said rollers, a gear mounted on said spacing frame, said rollers andsaid gear being independently rotatable, rack teeth on said Witnesses:plates engaged by said gear, and Opposed HARRY L. CLAPP, centeringsprings interposed between said KATHARINE GERLAOH.

ERNEST A. LE BEAU. ED'WIN G. BUSSE.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

